Pulley for floor-scrubbing machines.



W. S. FlNNELL.

PULLEY FOR FLOOR SCRUBBING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED nc.29. m4. RENEWED JAN. .1. ma.

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PU-LLEY FOR FLOOR SCRUBBING IVIACH'INES.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-29. 1914. RENEWED JAN. 1.191s.

1,275,887., Patented Aug. 13, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

. TED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WALTER S. FINNELL, OF HANNIBAL, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO FINOLA MANOFAGTUR- ING COMPANY, OF HANNIIBAL, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF MISSOURI.

PULLEY FOR. FLOOR-SCRUBBING- MACHINES.

specification of Letters Patent.

' Patented Aug.1$,1ll1d.

Application filed December 29, 1914, Serial No. twdfifl. Fenewed January t, 1913. Serial No. 210,797.

1 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WALTER S. Frivivnimc, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hannibal, in the county of Marion and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pulleys for Floor-Scrubbing Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain improvements in swivel-pulleys that are mounted on the staff rod of machines having wheels or rollers to move over a floor, such as floorscrubbing machines, carpet sweepers and such like machines, where the mechanism of the machine is driven by an electric motor carried on such moving machine, and the conductor wires that supply current to the motor are wound on a reel also carried on the machine.

A diiiiculty in using these machines which I carry electric conductor wires, is that the long wires when unwound often become entangled with 'the machine parts when the moving machine changes its direction of movement,

The object of the invention is to provide an improved mounting for the pulley that .guides the conductor cable-said pulley and mounting to prevent the entanglement of the cable with the machine parts when the machine in the course of its movements over the floor, is changing the direction of its movement.

The invention is illustrated in the accornpanying drawing in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of the swiv eled pulley, its mounting and the conductor wires.

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the pulley and mounting as seen from a direction transverse to that of Fig. 1.

' Fig. 3 is a diflerent elevationview of the pulley.

bing machine showing the electric motor,

the conductor wires, the reel, and other marises from the frame; 13, the inclined handles or push-bars by which the machine is propelled manually; 14, rotary scrubbrushes below the frame and in position to contact with the floor 9. A water-reservoir 15, is mounted on the movable frame, and said reservoir adapted to. contain a supply of water to sprinkle the floor; an electric motor 16, is carried on the machine and suitable gearing 17, 18, connects from the motor 16, to the rotatable brushes 14E.

, Electric current is supplied to the motor 16, by conductor wires wrapped or inclosed in the cable 19, and this cable is wound on a revoluble reel 20, whose bearings rest on the braces ofthe push-bars 13, in a comparatively low position on the machine. When a large part of the wire 19, is wound on this reel, the Wire and reel together constitute the most weighty part of all the several parts of the machine, and therefore it is important to have this weight as low down toward the'bottom frame 11, of the machine as practicable, in order to prevent the machine from upsetting at the time the moving machine changes its direction of movement, and also when at the same time, the end of the wire is attached to a stationary socket 21, on the wall of a room and the wire has been drawn taut. Under such conditions, if the reel was at an elevated position the machine would be liable to topple over.

The electric current for this type of machine is obtained by connecting one end of the wires 19, which has a plug to a source of current, as a socket 21, in the floor or wall 22, of the building. The reel is turnedone way to automatically wind up the wires, by the stored up power of a coiled spring, and is turned in the opposite direction to unwind the wires when the machine is pushed over the floor in a direction away from said socket 21. A reel of this character is shown in Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,079,299 dated Nov. 18, 1913.

This reel device serves to keep the conductor wires 19, sufliciently taut, at the same time allowing said wires to swing or move laterally to prevent the wire from dragging along the floor while the movement of the machine over the floor is in a straight line away from the said wall socket 21, or in a straight line back toward said socket. But when the moving machine changes its direction of movement the conductor wires become slack because the winding reel does not draw directly on them, and under such conditions the said wires are liable to catch upon or become entangled with certain parts of the machine.

A pulley 23, is employed to prevent the conductor wires from catching on the machine parts, and the structure of this pulley will now be described.

The upper end of the staif rod 12, is tubular, as shown at 24, in Fig. 1, and a lateral bracket arm 25, has a right-angled shank 26, that extends downward into said tubular part 24, of the staff-rod, where it is held from movement by a set-screw 27. This shank 26, has the form of a round rod. The pulley 23, has a circumferential groove in which the conductor wire 19, rests; this pulley turns on a shaft or bolt 28, held horizontally in the two sides of a swiveled bracket 29. Thus the pulley revolves in a vertical plane, and also is capable of a horizontal swinging movement. At the vertical rear part the twosides of the bracket are joined by a half-cylindric wall 30, see Figs. 1, 3 -and 4, and an arch-shaped bridge-bar 31, connects the tops of said two sides at their front end and except this bar 31, the tops of the sides are separated and an open slot is formed at saidtop between the halfcylindric wall 30, and said bridge-bar 31, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

The arch-shaped bridge-bar 31, at the top and front prevents the conductor wire 19, from being drawn off the grooved pulley 23, by anything producing a lateral pull on said wire. The open slot at the top of the swiveled bracket serves to facilitate the. threading of the conductor wires through the parts.

The lateral bracket arm 25, whose round shank 26, is mounted in the upper end of the staff-rod 12, rigidly supports an open ring-bearing 32, in which is swiveled the lower open tubular end 35, of the bracket that supports the pulley 23.

The said open ring-bearing 32, has at its lower side an inward-turned annular flange 33, and the cylindric shape of this ring forms an internal circular chamber 34.

The pulley-supporting bracket, below the half-cylindric wall 30, has a full cylindric open tubular lower end 35, see Figs. 5 and -7, the top edge of which is provided with an outward-turned flan e 36. The exterior diameter of the full cylindric lower end 35, is enough smaller than the interior diameter of the ring-bearing 32, to permit said cylindric end to be inserted downwardly within the ring-bearing, and also allow a suitable ball-bearing device to be interposed between said two parts.

The two ball-bearing rings have the same construction-and are shown in Figs. 5 and 7; the two rings 37 38, are shown separately and detached in Fig. 7; and in Fig. 5, are shown in section in their operative position. No claim is hereinafter made to any particular form of ball-bearing device.

A guide-pulley for the conductor wires provided with the improved mounting herein shown and described, and arranged relative to the staff rod 12, the winding reel 20, the motor 16, and the push-bars 13, will prevent the conductor wires 19, when they become slack by unwinding from the rec, from catching on said machine parts and becoming entangled therewith. The ballbearing rings have open centers and the wires 19, pass through said open centers.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is,-

- 1. The combination with a tubular support, of a rod adjustably sustained in and projecting from said support; a bracket arm carried by said rod and projecting laterally therefrom said arm being provided with a ring; a tubular device carried by and rotatable on said ring,-said tubular device being provided at one side with an upwardly projecting curved guide and a grooved guide-pulley sustained from the guide above said bracket ring.

2. The combination with a support, of a bracket arm extending laterally from the support and provided at its extremity with a ring; a flanged tube entering the ring from the upper side and being open vertically through the ring; a guide arm extending upwardly from one side .of .the flanged tube and rotatable with the tube above the ring and a grooved pulley carried by the guide arm above the said ring.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WALTER S. FINNELL.

Witnesses:

CHAS. B. MANN, BERTHA K. WALTER.- 

